The AP and Client both have connection tracking disabled, and distance set to Card Default (def).
Distance between units is 10 feet, line of sight, and using 3 inch whip antennas. Testing conditions were not optimal, and results will be updated as more tests are performed from time to time.

I am interested in links that have several hops in the path, like a test through 3 or 4 units. You suggested that that kind of traffic would be much smaller/weaker?

I'm not sure what you are looking for. Of course any multi hop path will be reduced. There is no magic and no laws of physics are getting broken by the Ventana. It simply outperforms any other 4 port board we have ever supported. And it is not just a bit better, it is a lot better.

So, if you have some war 4 port boards and need more juice, then the Ventana will give you the best available multi radio router.

..a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are,in short, a perfect match..

Try the latest 4.8.x.x firmware. It is becoming very stable and complete.

I (my client) have a 3-hop/4-unit backhaul that is supposed to transport both internet and IPTV, 100-200Mbps for starters, more later, if possible.
If I get 5 units (1 backup) with 3x3 radios and extras, without the case, it will cost $4000. To justify that recommendation, I should know how much traffic is possible. One link is 20 miles, so HT40 is not an option for entire link, so I need to know, before such large purchase, what link will be providing. If not enough then maybe some other specialized hardware might be in order, or different configuration of cheaper hardware running in parallel, or whatever. Or maybe that link is not profitable and will not be maintained no longer.
At the moment, with mixture of HT40 1x1 and HT20 2x2 and ALIX boards we do not get more then 30Mbps. So the owner wants some figures, it's a case of the return on investment.

At the moment, I can get 7 x Mikrotik NetMetal 5 11ac (20/40/80Mhz channel, advertised 560Mbps) 3x3 1300mW 720Mhz CPU devices for some $1500, but I am not fond of Mikrotik software so I need some real world results to compare with.

At this time I simply cannot provide data for throughput over distance.

There is no magic, though, and when the current units max out it is likely because of their slower CPU. The Ventana is a quad core 1 GHz CPU and all tests have shown that it delivers what the radio can provide and still has plenty of CPU left for more radios or routing and firewall tasks.

You've used our stuff for many years, so hopefully you can accept that the Ventana will outperform an Alix, especially when you try it with a few radios. Why not try 2 of them on your worst performing leg and see what they will do. That way it is not a total gamble and if it does not work, I am sure you can find a tower to make use of the 6 radios to simplify and upgrade the install.

If you do wish to try this smaller test I will speak with Ken and offer you a fairly big discount to help out.

..a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are,in short, a perfect match..

Try the latest 4.8.x.x firmware. It is becoming very stable and complete.

That Mikrotik hardware won't deliver much on a 20 mile link either. If you need a true 100Mbits or better at that distance you may have to go to a licensed frequency and special hardware. I don't know what frequencies may be available unlicensed in the target area, some areas have 11GHz, although here in Canada we don't. I also don't know if you can split up the long hop with shorter hops. What sort of up-time do you need, what is the climate like (for link fade at higher frequencies due to precipitation).

Even with Star-OS full duplex mode each radio link has to ack it's own packets. Something like a SAF Lumina link is Full duplex all the time the response comes back on the other carrier is is thus lower latency and allows higher speeds. I do much prefer Sta-OS over Mikrotik and the APs seem to work very well, but sometimes when it comes down to the back haul the right answer is different hardware entirely.

Originally Posted by DrLove73

At the moment, I can get 7 x Mikrotik NetMetal 5 11ac (20/40/80Mhz channel, advertised 560Mbps) 3x3 1300mW 720Mhz CPU devices for some $1500, but I am not fond of Mikrotik software so I need some real world results to compare with.

Tony has been working on bonding wireless devices. It's complex, but if he is able to figure it out, it would in theory allow a person to bond two HT20 links and get HT40 like performance, yet with HT20 distances. Or, in HT40 distances, one could (in theory) bond two HT40 links for ~540 Mbit of real throughput, without 'AC' limitations. One could even (in theory) bond a HT20 link and a HT10 link, or a 2x2 link and a 1x1 link, or a 5Ghz link and a 2.4 Ghz link - or whatever combination is suitable, in order to combine of each of their advantages. For example, a person may find that there is no consecutive 40 Mhz block that is clear, but two separate 20Mhz wide channels might just work great.

I (my client) have a 3-hop/4-unit backhaul...

If you want to let me know (even in a PM if you want) all the distances involved, I can compare it to our network and see if there's anything similar. We have about 100 Access Points in total, so there might well be 3 hops somewhere that are similar.

For what it's worth, here is a test that I did before Christmas with the new 4.3.x beta
Using PC-Engines APU with Compex WLE350NX 3x3 cards, 3x3 HT40
32,900 KB / second (~270 Megabit)

Of course, I also don't know what you'd get in your real-world environment, end to end through several links at whatever distances that you're dealing with, but given that we're starting with 270 Mbit on the first hop, I can't imagine that you'd end up with 30 after two more hops. However, as soon as there is a working 4.3.x released, our plan is to have this on our southern backhaul 48 KM = .22 KM <~~> 2.6 KM <~~> 14.8 KM <~~> 30.5 KM as well as on our northern backhaul 90 KM = .22 KM <~~> 2.6 KM <~~> 26.9 KM <~~> 17.2 KM <~~> 37.0 KM <~~> 6.10 KM

Hey, now that I think about it - between the farthest two points, we'll have 132.5 KMs that goes through 7 boards. It'll be interesting to test that 'Far North' to 'Far South' once this is all upgraded.

According to MikroTik, these NetMetal 5's are designed for very short links, "1 mile or less" is what they say. I don't really see numbers for how much the throughput drops off after that, but they say the 560Mbit would be for under 1 mile. That's still VERY impressive, and our first main hop is only .22KM, so this type of equipment still has a very valuable use. But, given your distances, I suspect not all that useful in your situation.

11ac can do impressive things across shorter links. It only gets significantly better than 11n when it has really good SNR, at least 24-30. Anything worse than -65 and the difference between 11n and 11ac is going to be very little.

I do have one 14 mile 11ac link up with -60 and on 40MHz it does a real 90-110mbit at MCS8 (16QAM) which is one of the higher modulation rates offered by 11ac. During bench testing with tx power turned down it could do at least 300mbit. I am pretty happy with what I got out of it since 11ac isn't really for long links.

..a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are,in short, a perfect match..

Try the latest 4.8.x.x firmware. It is becoming very stable and complete.